No ratings yet.

This blog, I will dive further into the impact generative AI has on media and if it will change how we perceive media.

During the last few months, I started to notice that people on LinkedIn use the same format over and over again. This is the format I perceived: people start of with a catchphrase and one or more emojis to tell you what the article is about and the rest of the post they start of each different part with a relevant emoji. Here is an example:

Figure 1, LinkedIn post

In light of my first blog, I decided to further dive into this. My first step of investigation was to ask ChatGPT to write me a LinkedIn post. Given the fact that ChatGPT is currently up to date, I should receive a post in this same format if this style of posting is indeed common on LinkedIn. And what do you know, when I asked ChatGPT to write a LinkedIn post a format that is popular in 2023, I got exactly the same result as I was seeing on LinkedIn.

In light of this confirmation, I started to wonder: does my perception of the value of LinkedIn post change if I think it is likely that they are written with the help of ChatGPT or another Gen AI? Personally, I became a bit more skeptical of LinkedIn posts due to this discovery. I think at the core of this lies the question:

Once you are unsure whether media is written by a person or AI, what does this do to the value of the media?

So, what do you think? Do you think your perception of media changes if you know or suspect it is written by AI?

References

Will AI-generated images create a new crisis for fact-checkers? Experts are not so sure. (z.d.). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/will-ai-generated-images-create-new-crisis-fact-checkers-experts-are-not-so-sure

No ratings yet.

As I had no experience with generative AI for images, I used the free generative image AI tool from Canva to explore its possiblities. When I asked for ‘A Van Gogh style painting of a man reading a book’, it gave me this picture:

As you can see, the image fits Van Gogh’s style and you can see a man even looking like Van Gogh himself reading a book. Looking at this image for only a few second, mistakes can immediately be recognized. Before I mention them, take a look yourself and see if you can find them.

Done?

Alright, so take a look at the book, notice the page? And the desk also seems a bit weird, the top looks very similar to the pages of a book. This image was created without any alterations from the free image generator of Canva, so imagine what kind of realistic images can be created with more effort and advanced tools.

An example of this is when Boris Eldagsen entered a major photography competition with an AI generated image and won. He refused to accept the prize, as he entered the competition only to ‘find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter,’ and added, ‘they are not.’ (Parshall, 2023)

The difference between human and AI generated art (generated in a more thorough manner than my example) is currently still possible to be determined by experts, but Eldagsen expects that by the end of the year this will not be possible anymore (Parshall, 2023).

The impact of generative AI is not limited to art, but also has consequences for other forms of information, like the news. It can be easily used to create dis- and misinformation, and the hype of such information travels is always trailed by fact checks (Reuters, 2023.).

Next blog, I will dive further into this subject, but before I end-off, I would like to give you some food for thought:

‘The relationship between image and truth has always been unstable. One could say that what we see with generative AI is just a continuation of that. Many people will get used to it.’ (Reuters, 2023).

So, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with Simon, or is generative AI like opening pandora’s box? Feel free to share your thoughts!

References:

Will AI-generated images create a new crisis for fact-checkers? Experts are not so sure. (z.d.). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/will-ai-generated-images-create-new-crisis-fact-checkers-experts-are-not-so-sure

Parshall, A. (2023, 21 april). How this AI image won a major photography competition. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-my-ai-image-won-a-major-photography-competition/